Rs 600 is what the violators will have to pay to get the clamps unlocked.

The traffic police have begun a crackdown on illegal parking which chokes arterial roads across the Capital - and their big weapon is a clamp which immobilises the vehicles.

Based on a comprehensive survey of areas where parking problems have thrown traffic out of gear, the police have identified 60 arterial roads which will be notified as no-parking zones. Illegally parked cars on these stretches will be clamped and their owners asked to cough up Rs 600 as fine.

Realising there is little time to lose, the police have already started the exercise in 10 areas, among them Connaught Place, Chandni Chowk, Nehru Place, Saket and Tilak Nagar. In the last 10 days, the traffic police fined over 1,800 people for parking in prohibited zones.

Police officials say it is too early to see a result of the drive, additional commissioner of police, traffic Anil Shukla, said, "The main idea is to educate the people about illegal parking as it obstructs the movements of other vehicles on arterial roads and main carriageways. We have already started the drive in a few areas and it will be intensified in the coming days."

Observing that a large number of vehicles are parked illegally on main carriageways hindering the movement of other vehicles, traffic police in October, 2012 had decided to slap multiple sections of the Motor Vehicles Act leading to a stiffer penalty of Rs 600. Officials said that the violators in this category are slapped with a fine of Rs 100 under Section 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act for improper parking and a fine of Rs 500 under Section 179 for obstruction and disobeying lawful directions.

Officials said that in the next few weeks, more areas identified in the survey will be declared no-parking areas. These include Max Muller Marg, Lala Lajpat Rai Marg, Raj Niwas Marg, Alaknanda, the busy stretch from Naraina flyover to Lohamandi, the congested stretches of Pusa Road and August Kranti Marg.

Getting the better of Delhi's chaotic parking conditions is always going to be a tough task despite the best intentions.

The Capital has over 72 lakh vehicles, more than the three other metros put together. The attempt is to make optimum use of the limited road space.

To make that happen, the police will have to be unyielding on the drive. Giving details of the drive, Shukla said that the traffic official concerned will pastes a sticker on the windshield of a wrongly parked car and leave behind his contact number and name.

"The person can contact him to get the vehicle unlocked. Once the challan is issued, a person can get the vehicle unlocked," he said. The Rs 600 fine will only be in the 60 notified zones.

Officials said that vehicle owners will be warned about no-parking areas with boards on the roadsides that say, 'No-Parking Zone. Your vehicle will be clamped'.

At present, the Delhi Traffic Police have 1,500 such clamps. Officials said that one clamp costs about Rs 2,000. While the Gurgaon police are in the process of putting in place a similar mechanism soon, the Hyderabad traffic police are already using such clamps to prevent haphazard parking. "The main benefit is that it requires less manpower. It is also more convenient for people. When a vehicle is towed away by the police, owners will need to visit to the nearby traffic circle. However, in this case they don't need to run from pillar to post looking for their vehicles," said a traffic police official.

There is another advantage over towing vehicles. Car owners have often complained of scratches on their vehicles when they are towed away and owners are known to get into arguments with traffic police officials. Besides, they will also save on towing charges and effectively pay Rs 600 as fine.

Delhi traffic police have around 70 tow-away vehicles. Less than half of these can lift sedans. Officials said that clamping will also sort out the issue arising due to lack of tow-away vehicles.

The police believe they will be able to get the better of people who think nothing of illegal parking and think a start has been made with the latest drive.

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